President's Report - April 2008

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by John Drewienkiewicz

As I write this in late February there is a hint of spring in the air. I no longer need my gloves on as I type away in the fastnesses of Suffolk.

Three weeks ago we held the first meeting in the Civil Service Club. The move from the National Army Museum came about as a result of feedback from members who felt that it was time to look elsewhere. The new venue is more conveniently located and it appears that we will suffer less from weekend engineering work on the tube by being easy walking distance from Charing Cross station and Trafalgar Square. The Civil Service Club made us most welcome, and members arriving early were able to have a drink and a snack at the very reasonably priced bar, as well as being able to hang on after the meeting. The meeting happened in the dining room upstairs, which seats about 50 comfortably, although 60 would be rather snug. With the membership as it is, and attendance at meetings being around 50, this suits us well for the moment. Two issues emerge. First, members are urged to register that they intend to attend, and second, if membership and attendance increase significantly then the Committee will review the situation. But for the moment we are content, with a cheaper, friendlier and more accessible location.

It has been pointed out that we have no `flyer' to advertise our Round table, and consequently we are commissioning a colour leaflet to do just that. It will be available by the June meeting with luck and members attending military shows will be able to offer the flyers to kindred spirits. It can also be put in libraries and the like.

We now have a full programme of high quality speakers for the rest of the year, which is listed elsewhere. Members will note that the 5 October Meeting is being planned as a somewhat bigger event, where it is intended to offer a programme from Saturday lunchtime to Sunday lunchtime. We are investigating the prospect of taking all the rooms at the Civil Service Club for overnight accommodation. The theme of the meeting is `Heroes or zeroes?' and will feature Civil War commanders whose reputation is less than stellar, such as (but not necessarily) Bragg, Sigel and Butler. Turning to the Constitution, much good work has been done by the sub-committee led by Tony Brown, charged with reviewing it. We plan to put it to the members by then.

The other event planned for 5 October is the Annual General Meeting, where the Club Officials for 2009 will be chosen. Please start to think now about who you want to run your Round Table. For my part I plan to stand down as your President at the end of 2008. I greatly enjoy the Round Table, but I am finding that it is increasingly difficult to keep weekends clear for it, and something has to give. So while I will remain a member and an enthusiastic contributor (you have yet to suffer my talk on Post ACW Reconstruction) I will not be as regular an attendee as is demanded of the President.

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